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During the late
19th century Rudolf Diesel worked to develop an
engine that could be used as a replacement for the
steam engines which powered industry. Diesel was
granted a patent for his internal combustion engine
in 1898, and his first successful engine operated
in 1897. Diesel realized the importance of using
locally produced, renewable fuel sources to power
his new engine, and experimented with a variety of
fuel sources including extensive testing with fat
oils from plants. Today we see that pure plant oils
are being used in place of diesel fuel the world
over. If you have been
searching the Internet in order to learn about
using vegetable oil as a diesel fuel replacement,
you no doubt have seen many negative stories about
the use of vegetable oils. You will hear about
increased maintenance, hard starting, and part
failure. These problems can usually be traced back
to two factors. The use of poor quality vegetable
oil or improperly filtered oil will cause hard
starting, increased filter maintenance, and
possibly a part failure. If you use improperly
filtered WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil), you will spend
more time and money replacing fuel filters. If you
don't keep fuel filters properly maintained, you
will have starting problems and possibly premature
part failure. Other reported problems are
frequently due to the condition of the vehicle
before converting it into a hybrid fuel vehicle. If
you start with a 25 year old vehicle that has
200,000 miles, don't be surprised if a fuel pump
fails after switching to SVO. You may have had a
pump that was about to die anyway. If you have a 25
year old pump, sucking improperly filtered fuel
through a dirty filter, it won't last. Make sure
you use non-hydrogenated oil that contains no
animal fats, never been used with breading, and has
been filtered to below 10 microns. There are
challenges involved when using vegetable oils to
replace diesel fuel in an engine. The first concern
is getting the oil to flow from the fuel tank to
the injector, and then back to the fuel tank. The
next concern is the ability of the fuel to burn
completely once inside the combustion chamber. Then
finally, care must be taken to ensure that
injectors are properly lubricated, and that fuel
system parts are not adversely affected by the
vegetable oil. These are obstacles that can be
easily overcome. One way to ensure
that the vegetable oil flows freely, burns
completely, and lubricates properly is to mix it
with another substance that will also burn in the
engine. While initial setup costs when using a
vegetable oil mixture are minimal, your overall
fuel cost per gallon will be higher. People who
burn a lot of diesel fuel may be better served with
another method. Don't confuse a vegetable oil
mixture with biodiesel fuel. They are not exactly
the same. Heating the
vegetable oil before attempting to have it flow
through the fuel system is the preferred method. By
heating the vegetable oil to 140+ degrees, the
viscosity is lowered so that it can be easily moved
from the fuel tank to the engine. Keeping the fuel
within this range will also help provide proper
combustion when introduced into the combustion
chamber. The fuel can easily be preheated by using
an electric heater, using hot coolant from the
engine, or a combination of the two for certain
applications. Electric heaters can be designed to
plug into the electric grid, or a 12 volt
automotive style can be used depending on
application and climate considerations. If you decide to
use a fuel system that preheats the vegetable oil,
you will have two options. You'll hear about single
tank systems or two tank systems. When using a
single tank system, you must preheat the fuel
before you can attempt to start the engine. This
can be done with an electric heater plugged into
the grid. It sometimes will also be necessary to
preheat the engine in a similar fashion. You will
also need to use an additive for proper lubrication
during the start up procedure. As you can guess,
with this type of single tank system you'll need to
plan ahead and allow additional time to get the
vehicle started. There'll be no more getting into
the vehicle, turning a key and then driving away.
If you will be operating your vehicle in a colder
climate, a single tank system may not be for
you. A two tank, also
know as hybrid fuel or dual fuel system is just
what the name implies. You have one type of fuel in
one tank, and another type of fuel in an auxiliary
tank. Use of a hybrid fuel system first began as an
effort to make a diesel engine easier to start when
cold. In the 1930's, International Harvester
started production of a tractor that ran on diesel
fuel, but was started on gasoline. Today these
hybrid fuel systems are popular again and are being
used in WVO, SVO, and biodiesel applications. The
engine is started on diesel fuel just like you are
accustomed to doing. The viscosity of the diesel
fuel, lubrication at start up, and proper
combustion of the diesel fuel is not an issue.
After the vegetable oil has been heated to an
acceptable temperature, the driver switches over
from diesel fuel to the vegetable oil to run the
vehicle. Hot coolant is usually used to heat the
oil on these type systems since it is basically a
free heat source. American Tank
offers a hybrid fuel system that is a two tank
system. We like the dual tank system because
objectives such as workable fuel viscosity,
complete combustion, proper lubrication, and
reliable cold climate operation can be easily
achieved. Your factory fuel system is kept mostly
intact, and diesel fuel is contained in the factory
fuel tank. Your auxiliary fuel tank will be used to
hold the vegetable oil. You will choose the diesel
fuel or the vegetable oil with the flip of a switch
mounted on the dash. The factory installed fuel
level gauge will display the fuel level in either
tank depending upon which fuel source is being
used. If you find yourself in a situation where
vegetable oil is not available, fill both tanks
with diesel fuel and use the system as a
traditional auxiliary fuel system. We think that a
hybrid fuel system should be easy to install, easy
to use, and easy to maintain by the average
person. |
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American
Tank |
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